Mounting means for time delay contact member



Dec. 17, 1963 J. SCHEIB, JR 3,114,810

MOUNTING MEANS FOR TIME DELAY CONTACT MEMBER Filed Sept. 28, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l TicnL.

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Dec. 17, 1963 J. SCHEIB, JR

MOUNTING MEANS FOR TIME DELAY CONTACT MEMBER Filed Sept. 28, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. m w w s r m z 5 W J T w w United States Patent 3,114,810 MOUNTING MEANS FOR TIME DELAY CONTACT MEMBER John Scheib, Jr., Elmsford, N.Y., assignor to Ward Leonard Electric Co., Mount Vernon, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 141,420 Claims. (Cl. 200-97) This invention relates to multipole electrical relays having contact members mounted separately and independently of one another and of the electromagnet. The invention is directed particularly to the means for mounting time delay contact members with and independent of instantaneous contact members.

In my oo-pending application Serial No. 741,347 filed on June 11, 1958, and entitled Electrical Mul-tipole Control Relay, now Patent No. 3,099,728 issued on July 30, 1963, an electrical relay is described having instantaneous contact members which are separately and independly mounted on the relay mounting plate. These cont-act members may be attached or removed from the relay without removing the other contact members or the electromagnet actuating the relays. This arrangement renders the relays adaptable to the requirements of the user on initial installation or at any time thereafter. Also, repair and replacement of parts may be attained with ease. Heretofore these relays have been limited to instantaneous opening and closing contact members. It is now desired to independently and separately mount contact members having a time delay in the operation of the contacts.

An object of the invention is to provide a mounting means for independently and separately mounting a time delay contact member in two positions to provide the delay either on energization or de-energization of the electromagnet.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of the upper portion of the relay;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the timed delay contact in a position for a timed delay in the operation of the contacts on energization of the electromagnet; 7

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the timed delay contact in a position for a timed delay in the operation of the contacts on de-energization of the electromagnet;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the mounting supporting the timed contacts, taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting bracket;

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the timed operated contacts; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the plunger bush mgs.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the time delay contact member 20 is shown mounted bet-ween the instantaneous contact members 21 and 22 and coupled to the armature frame 23 'of the electromagnet 24. The con-tact members 21 and 22 and the electromagnet and the armature frame 23 may be similar to the corresponding members described in the aforementioned application. The instantaneous contact members and the time delay contact member are actuated by the armature frame 23. The armature frame is tie-energized when in the full line position marked A and energized when in the dotted position marked B.

The time delay contact head is separately and independently attached to the mounting plate 25 of the relay and comprises a supporting housing 26 with an actuating member 30, a time delay contact means 32 and a ter- "ice minal block 33. The time delay supporting housing comprises a supporting plate 27 and a bracket 31. The supporting plate 27 is rectangular in shape and fastened to the mounting plate by means of two screws 28 extending through supporting plate mounting holes 29a, b provided in the corners of the plate and threading into the mounting plate with the heads of the screws available from the front of the relay. The mounting holes are related so that the supporting plate may be fastened in one of two vertical positions. The screws thread into the holes which are provided for the mounting screws of the instantaneous contacts. Holes 29a are used for one position and holes 29b for the other position. The contact head may be mounted either with the actuated shaft 66 extending up- Ward or with the shaft extending downward. The bracket 31 is fastened or welded to the supporting plate 27 and supports the time delay contact means 32 and the contact block 33. The mounting bracket 31 also reciprocally supports the actuating member 30 engaged by the armature frame 23 for actuating the time delay contact means 32.

The mounting bracket 31 has a generally U shape with two leg portions 35 and 36 and an intermediate portion 37. The leg portion 35 is spot welded to the supporting plate 27 so that the mounting bracket and supporting plate form the unitary supporting housing 26 for the electrical and dynamic members of the contact head.

A flange 38 extends from the leg 35 along the edge opposite to the connection of leg 35 with the intermediate plate 37. In this embodiment, the flange 38 extends parallel to the plate 37 and has an opening 39 aligned with an opening 41 in the intermediate plate 37 for receiving bushings 42 and 43 to reciprocally guide the rod 44 of the actuating member 30. The rod 44 is positioned between the time delay contact means 32 and the supporting plate 27. 7

Time delay contact means 32 is secured to the plate 37 with the direction of actuation of the contacts parallel to the reciprocal movement of the rod 44. The actuating member 30 has two finger members 45 and 46 extending normal to the rod 44 and the line of actuation of the time delay contact means. The finger member 45 has a T- shaped member 47 extending normal thereto and reciprocating closely adjacent to the supporting plate to limit the rotation of the rod 44 and prevent the dislocation of the finger members 45 and 46. The finger member 45 extends generally normal to the supporting plate and is riveted to the end of the rod 44.

At the other end of the rod 44, the finger 46 extends normal to the supporting plate and the direction of movement of the time delay contact means and is held in position by the T-sh-aped member 47 in a similar manner as the finger member 45. The finger member 46 has a flat, U-shaped leaf spring 52 for engaging the armature frame 23 in one of the two positions of the time delay contact head. The finger member also has an adjustable stop 78 for engaging the intermediate plate 37 so as to control the de-energized or energized position of the actuating member, depending on the attached position. Finger member 46 is held at the end of the rod 44 by means of the nut 53 threaded on the end of the shaft.

As illustrated in FIGURE 2, the housing support is positioned to provide time delay on re-energizing or raising of the armature frame 23; and in FIGURE 3, the housing support is reversed in position to that of FIG- URE 2 and provides for the time delay on de-energizing or lowering of the armature frame 23. The time delay contact means 32 may be a standard unit which has a contact housing 55 and time delay housing 56 held together and secured to the plate 37 of the mounting bracket 31 by means of the four bolts 57 and nuts 58 extending through the openings 59 in the intermediate portion 37.

The contact housing 55 may support leaf spring contacts 60 and 61 to connect the fixed terminals 62 and 63 in one position and 64 and 65 in the other position. In FIGURE 6, the relation of the contact actuator and the spring contacts in the position of FIGURE 2 is illustrated. The contacts 60 and 61 are normally biased to engage the contacts 62 and 63 and are snapped out of contact with the fixed contacts 62 and 63 and held against contacts 64 and 65 by means of the spring member 67, the block 68 and the snap latch 69. The shaft 66 extends through an opening 70 in the spring member 67 to snap the spring member and the snap latch 69 past dead center to relieve the pressure of the block 63 on the spring contacts 66 and 61. The contacts 66 and .61 then snap into engagement with the fixed contacts 62, 63. On the upward movement of the shaft 66, the spring member 67 and the snap latch 69 are moved back through dead center and the block forces the spring contacts 66, 61 into engagement with the contacts 64, 65. To actuate the spring member 67, the shaft 66 has an upper collar 66a and a lower collar 66b.

The time delay housing 56 may contain any desirable type of delay mechanism, such as an air diaphragm type with the shaft 66 fastened to the diaphragm 71. The delay mechanism holds the collar 6612 out of engagement with the spring member 6'7 for a period of time after the pressure of the finger member 46 is relieved. The time delay period is regulated by adjusting the knurled control 51 rotatably mounted on the housing 56. A slot 31 in the leg portion 36 and positioned adjacent to the knurled control permits a screw driver to bear against the leg portion 36 for turning the knurled control by fitting in the grooves 90.

In FIGURE 2, the finger 46 presses the shaft 66 down so as to energize the time delay actuating means and permit the spring contacts 60 and 61 to engage the fixed contacts 62, 63. On energization of the armature frame and the raising of the finger member 46 from the end of the shaft 66, the time delay operates to raise the spring member 67 and force the spring contacts 60 and 61 to engage fixed contacts 64 and 65. Upon de-energization of the armature frame, a downward actuating force is applied by the weight of the actuating means and/ or the spring 72. This forces the shaft down and the finger member 46 engages the shaft 66 to press the collar 66a against the resilient member 67, pressing the spring member and the spring latch 69 past dead center so that the spring contacts 60 and 61 will engage the fixed contacts 62 and 63. The time delay contact means is re-energized for operating the switch on next energization of the armature frame. The spring 72 is of a helical type and recesses in a hole 75 in the bolt 76 of the time delay contact means on the finger member 45, which seats around a ,knob 77.

The rod 44 is cylindrical in shape and is guided by the bushings 41 and 42 to move linearly and parallel to the movement of the shaft 66. An adjustable stop 78 is provided in the finger 46 by means of a threaded shaft 79 and nut 80 to limit the downward movement of the finger 46 and the amount that the time delay is depressed. The threaded shaft 79 engages the intermediate portion 3'7.

In FIGURE 3, the position of the time delay contact is reversed so that the finger 46 is at the bottom, adjacent to the armature frame 23 and the finger 45 is at the top. The contacts and the spring 67 are also rotated to face downwardly. On energization of the armature frame 23, the finger 46 presses against the shaft 66 and the collar 66a snaps the spring member 67 and latch 69 past dead center to permit the spring contacts 66 and 61 to assume the normal position against the fixed contacts 62 and 63. On de-energization, the collar 66b on the shaft 66 engages the spring member 67 to snap it back across dead center with the block 68 engaging the spring contacts 66 and 61 to force them to re-engage the fixed contacts 64 and 65.

The spring 72 is omitted, since the timed delay mechanism is energized by an upward actuating armature force. The timed delay mechanism is energized in FIGURE 2 by the stored energy in the spring 72 and in FIGURE 3 by the electromagnetic energy of the armature frame. The U-shaped spring 52 permits the armature frame 23 to overtravel after the stop means 78 has discontinued the movement of the actuating member 30. Thus the movement of the actuating member is limited to protect the spring member and contacts from excessive travel and bending without requiring the adjustment of the movement of the armature frame 23. The actuating means 30 is readily adaptable to the predetermined amplitude of the armature frame. The bushings 41, 42 are made of frictionless material, such as nylon, to provide a free sliding movement of the actuating means.

The contact terminal 33 is mounted on the leg portion 36 by means of bolts passing through the block 86 and threading into the leg portion 36. The contact block is of a conventional type and has U-shaped terminals 87 fastened to the block for connecting the leads to the contacts 60-65 to provide means for attaching external cables to the relay.

It is seen, from the foregoing description, that a mounting means has been provided for supporting a time delay mechanism in two positions which may be easily and independently attached to the mounting plate of the relay by screws accessible from the front of the relay. The leads connected to the contact head are also accessible from the front of the relay. Thus the relay may be readily attached to accommodate time delayed contacts without alteration of the relay. Various modifications may be made in the mounting means without departing from the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A time delay contact head comprising a supporting plate, a bracket firmly fastened to said supporting plate and extending generally normal thereto, a self contained time delay contact means having fixed contacts and move- .able contacts for engaging the fixed contacts and having a time delay mechanism with a shaft actuating said moveable contacts in and out of engagement with said fixed contacts, means for mounting said time delay contact means on said bracket with said shaft extending generally parallel to said supporting plate, an actuating member reversible in position independent of said time delay contact means and reciprocally mounted on said bracket said actuating member contacting said shaft parallel thereto to actuate said shaft and thereby energize said time delay mechanism, said supporting plate mountable in two positions to provide a time delay on application of an actuating force on one position and a time delay on the cessation of the actuating force applied to said actuating member.

2. A time delay contact head as set forth in claim 1, wherein said actuating member comprises a rod recipro' cally mounted in said bracket between said time delay contact means and said supporting plate, resilient means engaging said bracket to force said actuating member against said timed delay shaft to retain the time delay mechanism in an energizing condition.

3. A time delay contact head as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bracket has a resilient means for engagement by an electromagnet to prevent over-riding of said actuating member.

4. A time delay contact head as set forth in claim 1, wherein said actuating member engages said time delay shaft on application of an energizing force to said actuating member to shift said moveable contacts to the other position and energize said time delay mechanism for a time response of said moveable contacts on de-energization of said actuating member.

5. A time delay contact head comprising a supporting housing mountable in two reverse vertical locations for supporting a self contained time delay contact means and an actuating member reversible in position independent of said time delay contact means, said time delay contact means having actuatable contact means moveable between two positions and having a time delay mechanism With a shaft for actuating said contact means into one position, said actuating member reciprocally mounted in said supporting housing to move generally parallel to said shaft and engaging said shaft to actuate said contact means to the other position and energize said time delay mechanism in either location of said supporting plate to provide a time delay on application of an actuating force to said actuating member in one location of said bracket and a time delay on the cessation of the application of an actuating force to said actuating member in the other location of said bracket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,266,804 Roby Dec. 23, 1941 2,276,698 Pierce Mar. 17, 1942 2,545,986 Basnett Mar. 20, 1951 2,546,001 Immel Mar. 20, 1951 2,763,821 Krenke et al. Sept. 18, 1956 

1. A TIME DELAY CONTACT HEAD COMPRISING A SUPPORTING PLATE, A BRACKET FIRMLY FASTENED TO SAID SUPPORTING PLATE AND EXTENDING GENERALLY NORMAL THERETO, A SELF CONTAINED TIME DELAY CONTACT MEANS HAVING FIXED CONTACTS AND MOVEABLE CONTACTS FOR ENGAGING THE FIXED CONTACTS AND HAVING A TIME DELAY MECHANISM WITH A SHAFT ACTUATING SAID MOVEABLE CONTACTS IN AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FIXED CONTACTS, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID TIME DELAY CONTACT MEANS ON SAID BRACKET WITH SAID SHAFT EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID SUPPORTING PLATE, AN ACTUATING MEMBER REVERSIBLE IN POSITION INDEPENDENT OF SAID TIME DELAY CONTACT MEANS AND RECIPROCALLY MOUNTED ON SAID BRACKET SAID ACTUATING MEMBER CONTACTING SAID SHAFT PARALLEL THERETO TO ACTUATE SAID SHAFT AND THEREBY ENERGIZE SAID TIME DELAY MECHANISM, SAID SUPPORTING PLATE MOUNTABLE IN TWO POSITIONS TO PROVIDE A TIME DELAY ON APPLICATION OF AN ACTUATING FORCE ON ONE POSITION AND A TIME DELAY ON THE CESSATION OF THE ACTUATING FORCE APPLIED TO SAID ACTUATING MEMBER. 